W3Schools.com teaches HTML, DHTML, XHTML, CSS, and a WHOLE lot more in a very well designed tutorial format. A bit skimpy on the exercises, but you can make your own. Plus, they have a whole series of "Try it!" pages.
I simply can't recommend it highly enough. Chuck Beck -----Original Message----- From: tcp-boun...@techcommpros.com [mailto:tcp-boun...@techcommpros.com] On Behalf Of Ed Sent: Monday, May 18, 2009 15:25 To: 'Pinkham, Jim'; 'Danny G.'; 'Lisa Gielczyk' Cc: tcp@techcommpros.com Subject: Re: [TCP] Web Site Design I'd say, if you want to (eventually) continue a career in tech writing, learn HTML and CSS first. Almost all of our output these days is HTML-based, and if you want to customize your help presentation at all, it's all about CSS (or at least it is in Flare...). As Jim noted, there's a ton of free tools out there to play around. I'm sure you could get a complete education watching videos on YouTube. But you may want to take it offline and plan out exactly what you and your client want to do with their web sites before diving into the code. Pen and paper are still great tools, even in 2009. -=Ed. > -----Original Message----- > From: tcp-boun...@techcommpros.com [mailto:tcp- > boun...@techcommpros.com] On Behalf Of Pinkham, Jim > Sent: Monday, May 18, 2009 2:17 PM > To: Danny G.; Lisa Gielczyk > Cc: tcp@techcommpros.com > Subject: Re: [TCP] Web Site Design > > A wide open question, Danny. Some ISPs have the capacity to build your > own small site, which would be great practice. They may offer some > cookie-cutter, pre-packaged templates to fill, but, hopefully, you > would > also have the chance to build and modify your own pages. If there's no > luck there, you might consider a volunteer effort. There are some free > tools out there -- Evrsoft First Page 2006, Kompozer, etc. -- that let > you gain experience without expenditure :) Other programs, including > Word and Publisher, have some capacity for building web pages. They > could be a resource if you have them. Those in the know tend to opine > that the code that comes out is cluttered, and that is probably true. > But here, too, you can some design practice. Other tools, such as > FrontPage and Dreamweaver, offer further functionality. At some point, > you have to decide if you really want to learn to work with the guts of > the code -- HTML, DHTML, CSS, etc. -- or if you'll be happy letting > programs such as those mentioned do the heavy lifting, at some > sacrifice > to your flexibility and creativity. As time permits this summer, I'm > trying to give myself an education in cascading style sheets, an > approach that makes possible some pretty amazing work -- Google the > "Zen > Garden" if you want to get some ideas. > > That's my two cents, and I hope others will jump in. ______________________________________________ ComponentOne Doc-To-Help 2009 is your all-in-one authoring and publishing solution. Author in Doc-To-Help's XML-based editor, Microsoft Word or HTML and publish to the Web, Help systems or printed manuals. Download Free Trial. www.doctohelp.comhttp://www.techcommpros.com/componentone/ Interactive 3D Documentation Parts catalogs, animated instructions, and more. www.i3deverywhere.com _______________________________________________ Technical Communication Professionals Post a message to the list: email t...@techcommpros.com. Subscribe, unsubscribe, archives, account options, list info: http://techcommpros.com/mailman/listinfo/tcp_techcommpros.com Subscribe (email): send a blank message to tcp-subscr...@techcommpros.com Unsubscribe (email): send a blank message to tcp-unsubscr...@techcommpros.com Need help? Contact listad...@techcommpros.com Get the TCP whole experience! http://www.techcommpros.com ______________________________________________ ComponentOne Doc-To-Help 2009 is your all-in-one authoring and publishing solution. Author in Doc-To-Help's XML-based editor, Microsoft Word or HTML and publish to the Web, Help systems or printed manuals. Download Free Trial. www.doctohelp.comhttp://www.techcommpros.com/componentone/ Interactive 3D Documentation Parts catalogs, animated instructions, and more. www.i3deverywhere.com _______________________________________________ Technical Communication Professionals Post a message to the list: email t...@techcommpros.com. Subscribe, unsubscribe, archives, account options, list info: http://techcommpros.com/mailman/listinfo/tcp_techcommpros.com Subscribe (email): send a blank message to tcp-subscr...@techcommpros.com Unsubscribe (email): send a blank message to tcp-unsubscr...@techcommpros.com Need help? Contact listad...@techcommpros.com Get the TCP whole experience! http://www.techcommpros.com
